Kindergarten - Gateway 1
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Focus & Coherence
| Score | |
|---|---|
Gateway 1 - Partially Meets Expectations | 64% |
Criterion 1.1: Focus | 2 / 2 |
Criterion 1.2: Coherence | 4 / 4 |
Criterion 1.3: Coherence | 3 / 8 |
The instructional materials for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition partially meet expectations for focus and coherence in Gateway 1. For focus, the instructional materials meet the expectations for assessing grade-level standards, and the amount of time devoted to the major work of the grade is at least 65 percent. For coherence, the instructional materials are not coherent and consistent with the Standards. The instructional materials have an amount of content designated for one grade level that is viable for one school year, but the materials partially, or do not, meet expectations for the remainder of the indicators within coherence.
Criterion 1.1: Focus
The instructional materials reviewed forEarlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition meet expectations for not assessing topics before the grade level in which the topic should be introduced. The instructional materials include assessment items that primarily align to grade-level standards.
Indicator 1a
The instructional materials for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition meet expectations for assessing grade-level content. Assessment items primarily align to grade-level standards. In instances where items align to standards above grade level, the items could be omitted and the materials adapted without affecting the underlying structure of the materials. Unit 15 requires more significant changes, as students are reading and writing numbers to 100 throughout the assessment.
Examples of assessment items aligned to the grade level include:
- Unit 1, Student Textbook A, pages 19-20 assess K.MD.B. Students classify and count objects into categories.
- Unit 4, Student Textbook A, pages 84-87 assess K.CC.A. Students count to build the relationship between numbers and quantities.
- Unit 7, Student Textbook A, pages 168-169 assess K.CC.C. Students compare two groups of objects using a matching strategy to determine which group has more or less.
- Unit 9, Student Textbook B, pages 13-14 assess K.CC.A, K.CC.B, K.CC.C. Students count and identify groups of numbers that are greater or less.
Examples of assessment items aligned to standards above grade level include:
- In Unit 2, Student Textbook B, pages 52-53, students read a picture graph and record the number of objects. Picture graphs are aligned to 1.MD.4, and picture graphs with four categories of data align to 2.MD.10.
- In Unit 15, Student Textbook B, pages 113-114, students write numbers from 0-100, which aligns to 1.NBT.A. For K.CC.A, students write numbers from 0-20.
Criterion 1.2: Coherence
Students and teachers using the materials as designed devote the large majority of class time in each grade K-8 to the major work of the grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition meet expectations for devoting the large majority of class time to the major work of the grade. The instructional materials spend at least 65% of instructional time on the major work of the grade.
Indicator 1b
Instructional material spends the majority of class time on the major cluster of each grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition meet expectations for spending a majority of instructional time on major work of the grade.
- The approximate number of units devoted to major work of the grade (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 11 out of 15, which is approximately 73 percent.
- The number of lessons devoted to major work of the grade (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 103 out of 147, which is approximately 70 percent.
- The number of weeks devoted to major work (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 20 out of 29, which is approximately 69 percent.
A lesson-level analysis is most representative of the instructional materials because it represents the total amount of class time that addresses major work. As a result, approximately 70 percent of the instructional materials focus on major work of the grade.
Criterion 1.3: Coherence
Coherence: Each grade's instructional materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards.
The instructional materials for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition do meet expectations for being coherent and consistent with the Standards. The instructional materials have an amount of content designated for one grade level that is viable for one school year. However, the instructional materials miss connections between two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains, and they do not engage students in the major work of the grade through supporting content, do not identify content from future grades, and do not give students extensive grade-level problems.
Indicator 1c
Supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition do not meet expectations that supporting work enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade. Supporting standards are taught in isolation, and examples of missed connections between supporting and major standards include:
- In Unit 1, Matching and Sorting, there are missed natural opportunities to connect supporting standard K.MD.3 to major work K.CC.C (comparing numbers). In Textbook A, pages 15-18 and 21, students sort pictures into two categories. The opportunity to compare the groups after they are sorted is missed. For example, on page 18 students sort objects into boxes based on color. No follow- up questions comparing the number of objects are provided. The directions state, “Tell the students to sort the toys on the cards according to color. Repeat this activity, but allow students to decide the criteria for sorting the toys. Accept any reasonable method of sorting. Ask them to describe their method.”
- In Lesson 5.4, students identify rectangular prisms in different orientations. This lesson aligns to supporting standard K.G.4 (Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/"corners") and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length). In Textbook A, page 118 (Teacher’s Guide page 109), students identify the rectangular prism from different 3-D shapes. The teacher is directed to ask the following questions: “Are the objects you named earlier on this page?” “What shape do they all have?” A natural connection to the major work of counting and cardinality is missed, as the students do not count the number of sides or corners of the shapes.
- In Lesson 5.13, page 34, students identify triangles and use triangles to compose squares. The lesson supports the K.G supporting standard for analyzing, comparing, creating and composing shapes. The lesson does not make a connection to the major work of counting and cardinality.
- In Lesson 5.14, connections are missed as students work with shapes, supporting standards K.G.2 and K.G.4. For example, on Teacher’s Guide page 125, the teacher is directed to, “Pick out a yellow piece. Say, ‘This is a hexagon.’ Have students repeat after you. Have students trace the outline of the hexagon with their index finger. Have students work in pairs to create a hexagon using other-shaped pieces.” Students do not count the number of sides and corners, a missed connection to counting. A natural connection to compare numbers is also missed due to lack of counting. Activity Book A has one activity on pages 42-43 where students count the objects and write the number. This connects supporting standard K.G.2 to major work K.CC.3, however this is not present in the rest of Unit 5.
Indicator 1d
The amount of content designated for one grade level is viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades.
Instructional materials for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition meet expectations that the amount of content designated for one grade level is viable for one year.
- Instructional materials can be completed in 147 days.
- The suggested pacing from the publisher is one day per lesson. Each lesson is 60 minutes.
- Materials include 132 instructional days and 15 days for review/assessment, totaling 147 days.
Indicator 1e
Materials are consistent with the progressions in the Standards i. Materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards. If there is content from prior or future grades, that content is clearly identified and related to grade-level work ii. Materials give all students extensive work with grade-level problems iii. Materials relate grade level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
The instructional materials for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition do not meet expectations for the materials being consistent with the progressions in the standards. Content from prior or future grades is not clearly identified in the materials and does not support the progressions of the grade-level standards.
Examples of prior or future work that is not identified:
- Unit 2, Lesson 6 is aligned to 1.MD.4. Students organize and interpret data with three or more categories.
- Unit 8, Lesson 6 goes beyond K.MD.2 (directly compare two objects). Students compare three objects. (1.MD.1)
- Unit 15 is aligned to 1.NBT. Students extend the counting sequence in Lessons 2 and 4 as they write numerals beyond 20.
- Teacher’s Guide, Lesson 15.3, page 138 states, "Before playing the game, have students look on textbook page 107 and ask them if they notice any pattern(s) formed by the numbers. Point out to them that the numbers in the same column have the same value for the ones place, while the numbers in the same row have the same tens place, except the last number, which has the next higher tens place." In Kindergarten, students work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value. (K.NBT) In Grade 1, students understand place value (1.NBT.B). Standard K.CC.1, Count to 100 by ones and tens, is identified for this lesson.
Additionally, Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition materials do not provide all students extensive work with grade-level problems. For example:
- Textbook A, page 21, (K.MD.3), Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. Students are given pictures of animals and vehicles and directed to, "Sort these things by putting them in the correct box." However, the full depth of the standard is not met. Students are not given the opportunity to "count the number of objects in each category and sort the categories by count."
- K.CC.7 Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals. Students are not given enough opportunities to compare numerals. In the textbook and activity book, pictures of objects are shown to accompany the numerals.
- K.OA.2 Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem. A Put Together/Take Apart Both Addends Missing situation is not practiced (CCSSM, Table 1, Common Addition and Subtraction Situations, page 88.). Students have opportunities to decompose numbers in different ways; however, it is not in the context of word problems. For example, in Activity Book B, page 58, students are shown different pictures of 10 birds sitting on a brick wall. For each picture, their task is to identify the number of birds on the wall and the number of birds that are flying. Students see different combinations, but the answers are in the picture.
Indicator 1f
Materials foster coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the Standards i. Materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings. ii. Materials include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain, or two or more domains in a grade, in cases where these connections are natural and important.
The instructional materials for Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics Common Core Edition partially meet expectations that materials foster coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the standards.
The materials include learning objectives that are not consistently shaped by CCSSM cluster headings. Additionally, the cluster headings are not explicitly identified within the materials.
- A Grade K cluster heading is Compare Numbers. Teacher’s Guide, Unit 9 page 1 is devoted to comparing numbers to 10.
- The Grade K NBT cluster heading is: Work with numbers 11 - 19 to gain foundations for place value.” Some math in Unit 10 works towards this goal. For example, in lesson 10.3, Teacher’s Guide page 28 and Textbook page 19, students begin to work with a group of 10 linking cubes and some extra cubes. Students also use number cards to show that a teen number is 10 and some ones.
- Learning objectives for Chapters 2-4 are shaped by cluster headings. For example, the objective for Lesson 3.7 is, “Students will be able to count up to eight and represent the numbers 1 - 8 in writing.” This connects K.CC.A to K.CC.B.
- In Unit 6 on patterns, the publisher connects to K.G standards, but patterning is not a CCSSM standard.
- In Textbook B, Lesson 10.1 pages 15-16, students place objects into a container with ten slots or circle a group of ten items, building the understanding that teen numbers are ten ones and some more ones. This supports the cluster heading, "Work with numbers 11-19 to gain a foundation for place value."
- Objectives in Unit 11 are not visibly shaped by the cluster headings. For example, the objective for Teacher’s Guide, Lesson 11.5 page 56 is “using number bonds to 7.” This represents a specific strategy to solve an addition or subtraction problem.
Materials sometimes include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain; however, important connections are missed.
- Units 2 - 4: Connections are made between the CC cluster headings, “Know number names and the count sequence,” and “Count to tell the number of objects.” Students count, write numerals, and order the numerals. For example, in Textbook A page 42, students count the number of fish in the tank and count the number of dots in the square. Next, students put 4 counters on a five frame and write the number 4.
- Unit 5: Shapes misses natural opportunities throughout the unit to connect K.G.B standard with K.CC.A by counting the number of sides on shapes. For example, in Textbook A, Lesson 5.11 page 131, the directions say, "Show the students some cutouts and say, 'This is/not a rectangle.' Paste a rectangle on the board and say, 'This is a rectangle.' Have the students look at this page. Tell them to point out all the rectangles in the picture. Have them use their index fingers to trace the rectangles. Give the students several objects. Have them say which objects have rectangles on them. Have the students use their fingers to trace the rectangles. Encourage them to use the word ‘rectangle.’"
- Unit 7: Connections are made between K.CC.6 (identifying whether the number of objects in one group are greater than, less than, equal to) and standards in K.CC.A and K.CC.B (counting and writing numbers 0-20). For example, in Lesson 7.7, the objectives are, “Students will be able to say which group has more/fewer. Students will be able to say which group has a greater number/fewer number.”
- Unit 7: Connections are made between K.CC.C.6 and standards in K.CC.A and K.CC.B. For example, in lesson 7.7, the objectives are, “Students will be able to say which group has more/fewer. Students will be able to say which group has a greater number/fewer number.” In contrast to this, too many connections are made for K.CC.C.7 where students compare two numbers between 1 and 10 presented as written numerals. Students are not given the opportunity to compare numerals; rather, the numerals always include objects to count.
- Unit 10: Connections are evident between K.NBT.1 and K.CC.A and K.CC.B. Students count to 20, write numbers to 20, and group objects as a group of ten and some ones. The objective for Teacher’s Guide, Lesson 10.6 page 33 is, “Represent the numerals 16 - 19 as a filled ten frame and a few more and write them as two-digit numbers.”
- Unit 11: Connections are made between K.CC.A, K.CC.B, and K.OA.1. For example, in Student Activity Book B page 30, students are shown five sheep. The Teacher’s Guide directions on page 56 state, “Color some sheep blue. Color the rest green. Write the numbers.” Students count and write numbers (K.CC.A and K.CC.B). Students classify objects into given categories and count the numbers of objects in each category (K.MD.3), and they represent addition through drawings (K.OA.1).
- Units 12 - 14: Connections are made between K.CC.A, K.CC.B, K.OA.1, K.OA.2, and K.OA.5. For example, in Teacher’s Guide page 125, Let’s Do It! section, teachers are guided to, “Have students create their own simple word problem by drawing creatively. Have them write the addition/subtraction equation accordingly."